Somewhere Between the Thirty-Second and Thirty-Third Floor
by anthfan
Summary: Future fic. Felicity is surprised one morning by Oliver.


For years they'd tease her about how it took Felicity Smoak hours to notice the ring. How ironic it was that the woman who was the brains, and eyes, and ears of Team Arrow could have missed the three carats of diamonds on her left ring finger for a good part of the morning. How the woman who somehow managed to accessorize and match her nail color to her outfits regardless of how little sleep she'd gotten the night before could have missed the one new, very expensive accessory.

In her defense they'd been running on fumes that week. She and Oliver had stumbled through the door of her townhouse closer to dawn than to midnight and she'd hit snooze three times before she'd dragged herself from bed. They'd gotten ready for work mostly in silence although later she'd think back and realize Oliver had kept stopping to look at her, like he was anticipating something but she'd just chalked it up to their mutual exhaustion and the dregs of the mission from the night before.

She'd made it through getting dressed, checking her tablet, and the car ride to QC with Digg. She even made it through stopping in at her favorite coffee shop, Oliver waiting in the Bentley while she ran inside. She didn't hear Digg's amused chuckle as she shut the door behind her.

It wasn't until somewhere between the thirty-second and thirty-third floor that her eyes zeroed in on her reflection in the polished stainless steel of the elevator. She saw her tired eyes, her ever present glasses, the dark blue dress that always made her feel good, and the cup of coffee clutched in her left hand. The left hand that also had a sparkling engagement ring on it.

Luckily Digg was standing behind her when she noticed, her grip going slack, but he caught the cup in time.

"Oh my god! Oliver...wh...how...when?" she sputtered, eyes flying back and forth between the man who stood at her side and the ring on her finger that she now couldn't stop looking at.

As the doors opened on the executive level she stepped out numbly, Oliver just smiling at her in that way he had that made it seem like he for once had it all figured it out and she was the one who needed to play catch up. And this time it was true.

Digg just shook his head and herded her towards Oliver's office, "I owe Harper twenty bucks now. I thought for sure you'd spot it in the car,"

With heavy feet, like she was moving through a dream she felt Oliver's light touch at her elbow as they pushed through the glass doors and Digg disappeared back into the waiting elevator.

"Oliver...when?"

He laughed. A deep, barking sound that echoed across the slick modern surfaces of the room. "I love that you're more concerned with when I managed to put it on you instead of the fact that you're wearing my grandmother's engagement ring."

Eyes wide she looked up at him still in shock, "But…"

He laughed again, hands settling on her waist as he drew her in even closer, "Between the first and second time you hit snooze if you must know,"

Her hand was raised between them and she couldn't seem to stop turning it slightly from side to side, purposely letting it catch the light, "So this…"

"Is me asking if I can marry you,"

The breath hitched in her throat and she swallowed convulsively, "Oh...wow,"

He waited patiently, a glint in his eye that let her know he was enjoying this, enjoying being able to surprise her. Usually she was the one who knocked him off his axis, first with her verbal slips and later with the depth of her care and love. For the past four years she'd left him dumbstruck by just how true and good she was and how much he needed her in his life.

"Why this morning? Why today?"

He shrugged easily, reaching up to wrap his fingers around hers and bring them to his lips, working his way up until he could place a kiss just above the ring, "Why not? I got the ring out of the vault two months ago...and this morning after the alarm went off it just hit me that I didn't want you to go one more day without wearing it."

She gasped, eyes blurring as she stared up at him in wonder.

"I didn't think it would take you this long to notice. I was kind of hoping you'd wake up while I was putting it on but...you kept sleeping." he couldn't hide his grin and a flush of heat washed over her face as she clamped both hands across her mouth in horror.

"Oh my god! I slept through it! I slept through you basically proposing to me!"

"I can do it again if you want," he said, already reaching for her hand but she snatched it back too quick for even him to catch.

"No!" she cried, surprised at how attached she already felt to something she didn't even know was there ten minutes earlier,

Suddenly Oliver looked worried, "I'm sorry if it wasn't what you wanted...I...I should have planned it better…"

"Oliver, no!" she said hastily, wrapping her hand around the back of his neck and drawing him forward before he could retreat any further, "No...I don't need all of that, I don't want all of that. This was...this was perfect. Really."

"You sure? I can do the whole fly us to Paris, fancy restaurant, champagne, down on one knee thing-"

She cut him off with a kiss, a thrill of electricity shooting through her. Smiling against his lips she only pulled back far enough that she could see his eyes, "I'm sure. And I rather like kissing my fiancé."

"Technically you've already done that. I kissed you when you came out of the bathroom this morning and the ring was already on your finger,"

"But that's not fair! I didn't know we were engaged then!" she protested,

His eyes softened, arms holding her tighter, "So we're engaged? You really want to do this with me. Saving the city. Saving the company. Saving me."

"Oliver, I've been doing this with you since you showed up in my office with-"

"...a bad lie and a laptop full of bullets," he finished for her, "Yeah, I know. But…"

Her fingers stroked over his brow and then down until she could cup his cheek, "I chose you and this life a long time ago. If you'd never asked me to marry you I'd still be here. But I'm glad you did," she whispered, throat suddenly becoming tight, "It means something,"

"Yeah, it does," he confirmed and she could see it all in the way he looked at her just how serious he was. "I've never done this before, you know." and her heart flipped. Because as self-conscious as she could get on occassion when it came to Oliver's past with women she knew she was the only one he'd ever proposed to and the only one he ever would.

"Ready to be a superhero's wife?"

"Ready to be a genius's husband?" she countered with a wry smile,

"I think I'm definitely getting the better end of this deal,"

"I don't know…" she drew out, letting her hands deliberately run over the front of his shirt, every hard ridge of muscle rippling beneath her touch, "I get you _and t_he salmon ladder,"

Her giggle was quickly replaced by a moan as he dropped his mouth to hers.

They made out like teenagers until she was sitting on the edge of his desk and he was standing between her knees. Until the alert on her phone went off reminding them of the first meeting of the day.

With a sigh she pushed him away, fixing his tie and brushing his lapels while he slid her glasses up her nose and tugged her skirt back down.

"I'm clearing an hour before lunch. Board room. Be there and tell Digg to lock down the elevator." she said in her no-nonsense voice that ensured everything got done she needed to get done. And by the way she saw Oliver's eyes darken she knew it would be taken care of.

The morning seemed to crawl by but the way the morning light streamed into their offices the ring seemed to catch her attention almost constantly.

Now that she knew it was there she couldn't take her eyes off of it.


End file.
